Want to be heard by a real music publisher? Want to actually get your songs “out there” where people will pay attention and actually use your material or at least love to listen to it? Do you ever wonder how the professional songwriters seem to hit the mark and get on the radio or be sung in churches?
Here’s the key…
Most songwriters think they’re waiting on “inspiration” alone to write great songs, but it takes much more than a fleeting feeling.
The best songwriters have learned to employ ORIGINALITY in their songwriting.
What is originality and how can YOU use it today to increase the power and effectiveness of your songs? I put together a simple acrostic with the word ORIGINALITY to help you begin to think it through and make powerful choices as you write today.
- Open yourself to new ideas
- Refuse to rehash (don’t use the same lyrics/ideas over and over)
- Ignite imminent images
- Go somewhere different
- Insist on engaging listeners
- Never settle for less
- Always dig deeper
- Listen, listen, listen
- Inquire deeply of God
- Try reading great literature
- Yield the results to God
Let’s take each line and post about it each week until we’re done, with today’s post being about the first line of the acrostic, “Open yourself to new ideas.”
The best songwriters have learned to employ ORIGINALITY in their songwriting.
Open Yourself to New Ideas
Sadly, many aspiring writers have never scratched the surface on real songwriting because they don’t believe they need to learn anything. I was on the phone with a potential songwriting client once and asked, “Have you ever had any songwriting training?” Her exact response was, “Oh, I don’t need any. I just write from my heart.”
That’s like a heart surgeon believe they don’t need to go to medical school, but can just operate “from their hearts” because they have a passion for surgery.
Sadly, many aspiring writers have never scratched the surface on real songwriting because they don’t believe they need to learn anything.
Being closed to the very ideas that bring songwriting success is right at the top of the list of why songwriters are never heard or appreciated for their work. This means being open to the idea that you need help, the idea that you need better hooks and titles and lyrics and melodies. It means realizing that “going it alone” or trying to dig information out of YouTube to make you a success never really works.
Think about it.
The reason professional songwriters are professional songwriters is because they consistently have better ideas than you. Seems harsh, but it’s true. Most aspiring songwriters want their songs to be judged on the sincerity of their hearts rather than the quality of their songs.
Don’t Wait on Inspiration
As specifically “Christian” songwriters, we revolve around the primary themes of the Gospel, the Cross, the Resurrection, the Word, and the Love of God. Making these themes fresh over and over requires that you open yourself up to new ideas about how to express them.
Most aspiring songwriters want their songs to be judged on the sincerity of their hearts rather than the quality of their songs.
If you write the same thing the same way over and over and use the same ideas over and over, no one will pay attention. Writing from your heart with no real knowledge of songwriting skills won’t get you very far – it requires the dynamic combination of heartfelt passion for God with accurate, up to date songwriting skills to put your songs over.
“The great composer does not set to work because he is inspired but becomes inspired because he is working. Beethoven, Wagner, Bach and Mozart settled down day after day to the job at hand. They didn’t waste time waiting for inspiration.” Ernest Newman
Most songwriters think they’re waiting on “inspiration” alone to write great songs, but it takes much more than a fleeting feeling. It requires sustained interest, motivation, information, and the tenacity to press into ORIGINALITY to stand out and make music industry people, or anyone else, sit up and take notice.
